Mike Lazaridis Says BlackBerry Asked Him to Stay on as CEO

Before officially stepping down from his post as co-CEO, Mike Lazaridis revealed the company's board asked him (and Jim Balsillie) to reconsider. It's been a little over a year since Lazaridis stepped down from his lofty position at RIM (now BlackBerry), as the company looked to retool itself in the wake of a dwindling marketshare. Thorsten Heins eventually took the reins, and steered the ship with Lazaridis's help toward BlackBerry 10 and a surprisingly profitable fiscal fourth quarter.

Lazaridis said his main job as Vice Chairman—he assumed that role after stepping down as CEO—was to help current CEO Thorsten Heins launch BlackBerry 10, and now that that's over and done with, he can step away from the company he founded in 1984. The company was recently rebranded as BlackBerry back in January, and Lazaridis's departure brings closure to the Research In Motion era.

The company still has plenty of work ahead, but for the first time in a long time, things are actually looking positive. Despite taking a small subscriber dive during Q4, consumers seem genuinely interested in BlackBerry 10, which is more than it could say six months ago.